harmon



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

L. HARMON.

CORSET.

No. 454,167. Patented June 16, 1891.

h'i'ila Y w/ (N0 Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

L. HARMON.

CORSET.

No. 454,167. Patented June '16, 1891.

' U NIT-ED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOIS-HARMON, OF MARSHALLTOWN, IOIVA, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF TO DAVID T.DENMEAD, OF SAME PLACE.

CORSET.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 454,167, dated June16, 1891.

Application filed October 11, 1890. Serial No. 367,801. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LOIS HARMON,a citizen of the United States, andresiding at Marshalb town, in the county of Marshall and State of Iowa,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Combined Corseletand Skirt and Hose Supporters, which are fully set forth in thefollowing,specification, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, in which-- Figure 1 represents a front elevation of myimproved corselet; Fig. 2, a side elevation of the same; Fig. 3,arearelevation of the same; Fig. 4, a vertical section of the bosom-formdetached, taken on the line 4: 4 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5, a detail sectiontaken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4.; Fig. 6,a detail section taken on theline 6 6 of Fig. 1; Fig.7, a detail plan section taken on the line 7 7of Fig. 3 ,Fig. 8, a perspective view of the skirt-supporter detachedand closed; Fig. 9, a similar view of the same opened, and Fig. 10amodification of Fig. 5. Figs.

1, 2, and 3 are upon one scale, and the remaining figures upon anotherand enlarged scale.

My invention relates to a garment to take the place of ordinary corsets,the object being to obviate the objectionable features of corsets, andat the same time retain the main advantages which are attributed to thisarticle of wearing apparel.

I will describe in detail the construction of a garment in which I haveembodied my invention in a practical way, and will then point outdefinitely in claims the special improvements which I believe to be newand wish to secure by Letters Patent.

In the drawings,-A represents the body of the corselet. This portion ofthe garment is a simple waist, consisting of two parts a, which are tobe fastened together by any suitable fastening devices a. front andback, as indicated in Figs. 1 and The upper line of this waist is nearlystraight at front and intended to fit the person just below the bosom.Each part a extends back thence below the arms nearly straight for alittle distance, and is then curved upward toward the shoulder at theback and then again cut away, so as to make quite a sharp curve downwardat the back, as seen in Fig. 3, thus providing a rather narrowprojecting point a at the back of the garment, reaching up toward eachshoulder, with the space between these two projections largely cut down,as clearly shown in Fig. At the front each half a of the waist isconstructed so as to provide a comparatively narrow strip or tongue aextending downward about in line with the bosom-form when attached,these tongues being of sufficient length to reach down upon the lowerlimbs directly in front. The waist is also provided at the rear withsimilar strips or projections a which are intended to extend downwardupon the limbs directly at the back thereof, though these back stripsare not intended to be as long as those in front. This waist is made ofplain simple fabric without stays of steel, bone, or any other likematerial. For the purpose of strengthening this portion of the garment,however, the joining seams of the different pieces composing the waist,preferably all of them, are.

corded. There are three of these seams in each half of the waist,designated in the draw ings by Figs. 1, 2, and 3, commencing at thefront. The construction of one of these seams is shown in Fig. 6. Forthe same purpose lines of cord 4 may also be run down in front near eachedge of the piece a, and similar cords 5 in each half near the back edgeof the seam. This cording of the waist is simply for the purpose ofgiving additional strength to the fabric and to preserve the form of thegarment. and leaves the latter still perfectly soft and flexible, sothat the waist is perfectly easy and comfortable to the wearer.

A bosom-form B is secured to each waist half a, at the front thereof, asseen in Fig. 1. These forms 13 are of peculiar construction andconstitute one of the main features of my invention, the object being toavoid the use of steel strips or any other like stay-strips of any hardmaterial, and at the same time to provide a form which willsubstantially retain its. shape. I accomplish this result by makingthese bosom or bust forms of corded fabric, which I make especially forthis purpose. This fabric is obtained by placing cords 1) side by sideand parallel with each other between two thicknesses of fabric b b andthen stitching the latter together by lines of stitching 1) between thecords, as seen in Figs. a and 5; or it may be made by arranging theparallel cords on a single thickness and fastening them together bystitching through the cords and fabric either crosswise or lengthwise,as seen in Fig. 10. This last construction is the one preferred. Thecords are an ranged so that when this part of the garment is completedthey will all run in a horizontal direction from side to side. In orderto obtain the desired shape, these forms must of course be composed ofseveral pieces or gores. In the drawings each form is shown composed offour separate pieces or sections, which. are secured together byvertical seams bf. To give additional support and firmness to the form,these seams are also corded, the cords C being substantially at rightangles to the horizontal cords b and arranged on the inside of the formand protected by a covering 0, which is stitched at the edges andbetween the cords to the outer fabric, as seen in Fig. 7 ,in which threeof these stay-cords are shown, though the number is a matter ofjudgment. Each bust-form is covered with a plain fabric D, so as to givea smooth exterior surface next to the gown. A further improvement in theconstruction of these bust-forms is in making them of four separatepieces, instead of three, as heretofore. In my construction, as shown inthe drawings, each form is composed of the four pieces I) b 1) bIleretofore the two center pieces U Z) have been contained in one piece;but by making two pieces, each of which is out as a gore, a much bettershape is obtained, this result being facilitated by the curved centralseam down the center of the bust. The shoulder-straps E are fastened atthe back to the projecting points ct. At the front a short piece ofelastic webbing E is attached tothe upper edge of each bust-form and isprovided with a buckle e, by which the shoulder-strap is fastenedthereto; or the straps may be all elastic webbin Strips of elasticwebbing F are also fastened by buckles f to the lower ends of the fourdepending strips (o a and are provided at their lower ends with anysuitable elasps 1, adapted for attachment to the hose, both in front andatthe back. Skirt-supporters G are also secured to the front and back ofeach waist-section a'by means of short tapes II. These supporters are ofpeculiar construction. They are formed of a single narrow strip of thinmetal g, which is bent upon itself at the middle and is provided with. asliding loop or keeper g, which is slipped over the folded strip and isthen movable back and forth thereon. The end of the inner half of thestrip is provided with prongs or pins 9 preferably made in one piece,secured in any suitable way to the strip and arranged with the pointsprojecting inward between the two sheets of metal, as seen in Figs. 8and 9. In bending the metal strip it is passed into a small wire loop7L, by which this supporter is secured to the tapes 11. These supportersare fastened to the waist in any convenient position at front and backfor attachment to the skirt, which is readily elfected by slipping theloop 9 to the upper end of the supporter, as seen in Fig. 9, whenobviously the skirt is readily caught upon the pins at the lower end.The loop is then slipped down, as seen in Fig. 8, thereby closing theouter leaf of the strip upon the points of the pin, completely coveringand protecting them and also preventing any detachment of the skirttherefrom, so that this device forms a complete safety supporter for theskirts. These supporters are fastened in front justin line with thecentral sea-n1 of the bust forms above and at the back they are verynearly in line with the points of attachment for the shoulder-straps.The strain, therefore, upon the skirt-supporters will be almost in adirect line with the central seam of ihe bust-forms and this arrangementserves also to assist in preserving the latter in the desirable shape.The resistance also of the shoulder-straps on the upper edge of thebust-forms puts these forms under strain transversely of the cording,which is of the least support against collapsing vertieally, and thespecial arrangement of the straps and supports in connection with thetransverse cording and the plain flexible waist tends to keep the corsetin shape in all directions.

The pins at the lower ends of the skirtsupporters may be formed in onepiece with the metallic strip by cutting out the end suitably for thispurpose and bending up the projections or points thus obtained.

The ends of the webbing for the shoulderstraps or any other straps aboutthe garment may be readily secured by a small fasteningelip I, which issimply a small strip of thin metal with each end pointed and bent atright angles to the center. This clamp is applied by turning inslightlythe end of the webbing and then forcing the two points i throughthe thicknesses of the fabric and bending them. down flatly on the otherside.

Some modifications may be made in. the construction of this garment, asherein described and shown, without losing the main improvements which Ihave made. And in some instances where the garment is intended for verystout women, a small slight strip of steel may be used at the centralseam of the bustforms, and even if found. necessary upon other of theseams upon the front of these portions of the garment. I prefer,however,if possible to dispense with all such devices of steel, bone,and other like material, and when this is accomplished it will be seen.that a garment is obtained which must be easy and comfortable to thewearer, while the bust-forms constructed as described, and having thepeculiarities set forth, give the garment all the desirable featureswhich are claimed for corsets. The articles of apparel requiring supportare all supported by this easy waist, as will be seen by thedescription. The formation of the two parts composing the back of thegarment also provides a deep depression or cut in the central part ofthe garment at the back, thereby avoiding the straight, stiff,uncomfortable line so frequently seen in corsets and other likegarments.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The waist-body A, in combination with bust-forms B, composed ofsolidly-corded fabric, the cords of which run horizontally of the waist,and shoulder-straps E, connecting the upper ends of said forms to-theback of the waist, whereby the bust-forms are put under strain acrossthe lines of the cording, substantially as and for the purposesspecified.

2. The bust-forms B, composed of four separate pieces I), 6, b and b ofsolidly-corded fabric, the two center pieces being joined on acentralline extending from top to bottom of each form, in combination with thewaist A and straps E, attached to the forms about on the said centralline and connecting them to the back of the waist, substantially as andfor the purposes specified.

3. The waist-body A, in combination with the bust-forms B, composed ofsolidly-corded fabric, the cords of which run horizontally of the waistand secured at their lower ends to the waist, the shoulder-strapsconnected to the upper ends of said forms about on a central verticalline thereof, and hosesupporters attached to strips or tongues aextending down from the waist nearly in line with the said central lineof the forms, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

4. The Waist A, in combination with the bust-forms B, of solidly-cordedfabric, the cords of which run horizontally of the waist, secured attheir lower ends to the waist, the shoulder-straps E, connected to theupper ends of said forms about centrally thereof, and skirt-supportersG, attached to the waist in front about in line with the centralVertical line of the forms and at the back about in line with theshoulder-straps, whereby the strain of said supporters upon the waist isabout upon said central line of the forms, substantially as and for thepurposes specified.

LOIS HARMON. Witnesses:

GERTRUDE'DENMEAD,

HATTIE DENMEAD.

